Arm sling



March 22, 1938. H. E. COO'MBS 2,111,963

ARM SLING Filed Sept. 25, 1956 Patented Mar. 22, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ARM SLING 2 Claims.

This invention relates to an arm sling, the purpose of which is to support an injured arm.

An object of my invention is to provide a slin the weight of the injured arm being carried from the shoulders and by a belt encircling the waist.

Another object is to provide a novel'sling, the shoulder straps of which can be passed over both shoulders, or placed one over the other, thus extending over only one, shoulder. A patient suffering from an injury to the shoulder or adjacent parts can support the arm from the uninjured shoulder. In the case of a broken shoulder, a broken collar bone or dislocated shoulder blade, the aiizected shoulder tends to drop which puts additional strain on the spine and throws the body out of balance, with the result that the healing of the afiected part is retarded, and complications may arise due to the unnatural or strained position of the body. With my support, the strain on the spine, and the unnatural position of the body are eliminated.

A feature of my invention resides in the novel adjustable members whereby the sling can be made to fit patients of various sizes.

vention may appear from the accompanying drawing, the subjoined detailed description, and the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of my arm sling shown in operative position.

Figure 2 is a rear view of the same.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary elevation of the belt.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary elevation of the rear portion of the supporting straps.

Figure 5 is afragmentary elevation of the belt and attaching loop.

Figure 6 is a sectional View taken on line B6 of Fig. 4.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the numeral l indicates a belt which encircles the waist of the wearer, substantially as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. A suitable buckle 2 secures the belt around the waist of the wearer.

In order to properly center the belt on the wearer, for a purpose to be further described, I provide adjusting slides 3, 4, one on each side of the buckle 2. Thus, the belt can be equally adjusted on both sides of the buckle 2, thereby centering the belt on the wearer.

A pair of buttons 4, 5-or similar fastening means-is attached to the rear of the, belt I and. it is desirable that these buttons be centered on the wearer so that the sling will rest comfortably 55 on the shoulders of the wearer and so that the stress is transmitted to the belt. A loop 6 is Other objects, advantages and features of inattached at either end to the buttons 4, 5 and the harness 1 is attached to the loop. The harness comprises a back strap 8, the length of which is adjustable by the slide 9. The lower end of the back strap is slidably attached to the loop 6 by means of the member ID whch member encircles the loop.

A pair of shoulder straps ll, I2 is secured to the upper end of the strap 8. The shoulder straps are preferably one continuous length of material and are attached to the upper end of the strap 8 by means of the metal clip l3. This clip is provided with inwardly extending fingers M which project thru a hole in the shoulder strap. The purpose of this construction is to center the shoulder straps in the clip and to permit thetwo straps to be placed one over the other and then extended over only one shoulder instead of both shoulders, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In certain shoulder and arm injuries, it is desirable that the shoulder straps extend over only one shoulder. With the arrangement here disclosed, the two straps can be placed one on top of the other without bulging or causing of greater stress on one shoulder strap than on the other.

The arm sling I5 is adjustably secured to the ends of the shoulder straps ll, l2 by threading the end of the arm sling thru a pair of rings l6, H, which rings are attached to the ends of the shoulder straps H, l2, respectively.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. An arm sling harness comprisinga belt, a buckle on the belt, length adjusting means on each side of the buckle, a loop attached to the rear of the belt, a back'strap, means slidably attaching the back strap to the loop, length adjusting means on the back strap, a clip attached to the back strap, a pair of shoulder straps,.said shoulder straps extending thru said clip, an arm sling, attaching means on the ends of each of the shoulder straps, said arm sling engaging said attaching means.

2. An armsling harness comprising a belt, a buckle on the belt, length adjusting means on each side of the buckle, a loop attached to the rear of the belt, a back strap, means slidably attaching the back strap to the loop, length adjusting means on the back strap, a clip attached to the backstrap, a pair of shoulder straps, said shoulder straps extending thru said clip, an arm sling, attaching means on the ends of each of the shoulder straps, said arm sling engaging said attaching means, inwardly extending fingers on said clip, each of said shoulder straps having a hole therein thru which said fingers extend.

HAROLD E. C'OOMBS. 

